Out of Order
Sunday, February 10, 2013 at 4:39PM “I don’t see any of your issues as insurmountable.”
- Seminole County Circuit Court Judge Debra Nelson, in denying a continuance motion filed by Zimmerman’s lawyer, Mark O’Mara.
I believe George Zimmerman’s defense is so busy prepping for the immunity hearing set for late April, that it’s one of the most important reasons why O’Mara filed the DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO CONTINUE. Plus, time needed to sweeten the pot, of course. Granted, mounting a proper defense takes time, but O’Mara has been quick to point out that his client is so innocent, it’s blatantly obvious. SLAM DUNK! If anything, he should be in a hurry to end the nightmare he’s so sure his client is innocent of; and he’s said so on numerous occasions. I mean, why worry?
“I will call my wife as an expert witness that I want this case tried in June.”
- Mark O’Mara, at the hearing on February 5
The motion filed on January 30, sans photographic and assorted correspondence evidence, is fifteen pages long. Someone spent a lot of time putting it together, yet it was fatally flawed right from the start. If you read (5) on page one, O’Mara acknowledges:
“While it should be noted that the State Attorney’s Office has assisted the defense by organizing and presenting State witnesses for deposition without need for subpoena, there have been other problems and/or delays with discovery.”
Yet, on page three (7), the motion states:
“Again, while the State is within its right, under the letter of the rule, to demand […] formalities, that has cost hundreds of hours of additional time to be expended, which has delayed work and progress on other substantive matters.”
This is not quite the truth. The Defense spent many hours sweeping Judge Lester out the door. (See: WRIT OF PROHIBITION.) I am convinced the judge gave George Zimmerman a reprimand he most certainly deserved when his wife lied in open court and he kept his mouth shut. I also think Lester would have moved on from that point and been as fair as possible. It was simply a scolding — holding no further grudge. Regardless, the bottom line is that it was purely something the Defendant created and the State should not be blamed for this loss of precious time. Period. That’s what the continuance motion was all about; not enough time, yet it never once mentioned the time it took to file the writ, then the appeal and, finally, to win the appeal that ordered Lester’s removal from the case. Which leads to…
“The State can’t control the methodology the [defense] uses.”
- Bernie de la Rionda, at the hearing, on how the defense schedules its subpoenas
In the State’s rebuttal motion, STATE’S RESPONSE TO DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO CONTINUE, Bernie de la Rionda let the Court know the Defense motion for a continuance was very one-sided and that he has complied with discovery rules. This is more about depositions:
“And while many depositions have been taken, in some cases it was only after the State repeatedly asked that depositions be set. There have been too many delays in getting Defense Counsel to schedule depositions, on at least four occasions depositions were scheduled (entire days were set aside), only to be informed by Defense Counsel the depositions were cancelled. The State has expressed its frustration with this process.”
Also written in the response was that, originally, both sides had agreed to set aside the entire week of January 28 for depositions, but as the week neared and nothing surfaced, the Defense informed the State that only two days would be allocated for depositions. Later, the State was informed that none would take place because the Defense was focusing on the preparation of the continuance motion during that week. This is all documented, too.
Of course, it almost goes without saying that Bernie de la Rionda formally objected to Mark O’Mara’s statement about the State’s formalities:
“The State has previously attempted to inform Defense Counsel of certain information during ‘informal discovery’ only to have the statements taken out of context and/or misstated in motions and arguments.”
De la Rionda wrote that the State will continue to comply with the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, but will not provide them with a roadmap of what the evidence shows, nor will it connect the dots before depositions are taken. He also noted that the Defense complained about having to spend a great deal of time “reviewing and dealing with all the information ‘which has flowed through various social media sites, blogs, media outlets, and other vehicles’” without mentioning that Zimmerman and O’Mara created their own sites and continue to spend hours sorting through bits and pieces information. We need only look at the Sean Hannity interview for what makes this an example of hypocrisy in action.
One of the things that’s irked me for some time is the Defense’s propensity to blame the media for all of the information that’s out there for the public to pick through, yet it is responsible for a great deal of it. That’s the pot calling the kettle black, as far as I’m concerned. We live in a different world, too, and it’s now quite apparent that all of the negative publicity spewed during the nearly three years of the Casey Anthony case, from July 2008 to the onset of the trial in May 2011, did nothing to harm her in court. In this case, if anything, Zimmerman’s Defense has been doing a great job handling public relations. They should be counting their blessings, in other words.
This is no dress rehearsal; nor is it the first time O’Mara has been involved in a complex case, so he understands the mechanisms completely. At a hearing on October 26, Judge Nelson addressed the date of trial and set it for June 10. Three days later, she issued a scheduling order, the AMENDED SCHEDULING ORDER AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED BEFORE TRIAL (amended to correct year of trial date). In it, she wrote:
It is hereby ORDERED:
1. Trial is presently set to begin on June 10, 2013.
a. Any Self-defense Immunity / Stand Your Ground motion shall be filed and heard on or before April 26, 2013, which is 45 days before trial.
b. Final witness lists, including any expected expert witnesses, shall be exchanged on or before March 27, 2013, which is 75 days before trial.
c. Any other pre-trial motions shall be filed and heard or [sic] before May 10, 2013, which is 31 days prior to trial.
d. Certain short-matter motions addressing purely legal matters may be heard on or before May 31, 2013, which is 10 days prior to trial.
e. No continuances [emphasis mine] of the trial will be granted on the basis that the parties have not complied with these deadlines.
There it is, folks, in simple black & white. No continuances; none simply granted, anyway, and Mark O’Mara should have expected the outcome going into Tuesday’s hearing. Shades of Judge Belvin Perry, Jr., who is also a stickler for dates and times. It should also be mentioned that, before her quick ruling, Nelson noted that she had two dates set aside for hearings to deal with discovery and other issues, but neither side took real advantage of them, not that the State seems to need them. That could have, quite possibly, hindered the Defense by not keeping the Court apprised of their situation throughout.
Oh well, it didn’t hurt to try on Tuesday but, times-a-wastin’ and there’s an immunity hearing to prep for…
Also see Daily Kos
Dave Knechel | tagged Writ of Prohibition | in Angela Corey, Benjamin Crump, Bernie De la Rionda, Casey Anthony, Chief Judge Belvin Perry, Dave Knechel, David B. Knechel, David Knechel, Donald West, Fifth District Court of Appeal, George Zimmerman, Immunity Hearing, Judge Debra S. Nelson, Judge Kenneth R. Lester, Jr., Marinade Dave, Marinade Dave Knechel, Mark O'Mara, SYG, Seminole County, Stand Your Ground, Subpoena Duces Tecum, Trayvon Martin, gzlegalcase, marinadedave | Share Article 
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Reader Comments (9)
As always a great article.
I don't understand why MOM felt he needed to ask for a continuance,surely he knew he would be wasting precious time as it would be denied. I don't know what work has been done on the defense side but it seems to me they are wasting way to much time on TV appearances and blogs.
Seems pretty cut and dried to me!!!! Judge Nelson was right to give them an itemized itinerary...This journey for the defense needs to stay on track...Come on boys, you know/think your client is not guilty so what's with the delays? Get the show on the road and quit looking for loopholes...
He is just going through the motions.
Getting his whineing on the record.
For future use in possable apeals process.
He knew it would be deneid he is also rattling the begging bowl.
Claiming not to be able to proceed with experts ect an be ready to proceed on jun tenth.
Said they wouldnt be able to acomplish the courts orders in the time schedule already agreed on.
PS Great Article Dave....................
Dave~ ~ I watched the hearing and you summarized it quite nicely. I think Judge Nelson has an attitude! You can bet your patootie that she will deny the self-defense immunity hearing. Thank goodness a jury will be deciding Zimmerman's fate unless Nelson hand picks them.
How often do you see a case of this magnitude going to trial in just a year and a half? O'Mara is being ridiculed for every move he makes and this has been going on since he took over the case. He wants to make sure his client gets a fair trial. Maybe the state wants to get the trial over with before O'Mara uncovers some evidence which may benefit his client. What about all the cell phone records (GPS) for Feb 26th? Did they surface yet?
Granted O'Mara has a website and has pressers on tv. We don't see De La Rionda making the rounds but Crump and Jackson seems to be picking up the slack quite nicely. What is wrong with asking for funding in the way of donations if your client has no source of income? If the JAC were footing all the bills, there would be belly aching about that.
O'Mara will never live it down for getting rid of Judge Lester. Shame on him! I am just a layperson and when I read Lester's Order aka 'eight page rant', I decided he must go. Not to worry, Debra will not let Lester's fans down in her decision making. Did you see the look she gave Don West before he even opened his mouth? Oops, I almost forgot, it is West who has the chip on his shoulder.
There is no middle of the road here. You are all right. I am wrong because I want Zimmerman to have his just due and that is a fair trial. I cannot decide if he is guilty or not guilty so I concede....
Zimmerman is guilty! Take him out and shoot him with an assault rifle.
JMO
I also want justice for Trayvon and a fair trial for Zimmerman. I'm against shooting him,but the evidence seen so far shows no marks on Trayvon's hands caused by hitting GZ who shot a child. Yes a child,3 weeks into his 17th year of life. The family has shown amazing class and courage in the face of all who try to malign Trayvon,attempting to portray his as a thug. They'll do the same thing to DeeDee if they get the chance. I know it's MOM's job but it's grossly unfair to Trayvon,his family and his friends. I can only imagine the pain in losing a child in this manner. I wish others would put themselves in the shoes of Trayvon's parents.
MOM is out of his class on this one. He has a liar for a client that used money donated for his defense to pay past due CC and cell phone bills. MOM got $40,000.00 in office equipment,to aid in the defense?
JMHO of course.
I don't believe that comparing this case with others of 'the same magnitude' - meaning those that have garnered a great deal of public attention?- since the prosecution doesn't have to prove that Zimmerman was the shooter. He's freely admitted that. The defense isn't even continuing to argue that this is a SYG case; O'Mara has said that it apparently doesn't apply. If there is an immunity hearing, the burden of proof is on the defendant, and I don't see any way that his several contradictory versions could stand up to cross-examination.
I want the defendant to have a fair trial, too, which is why I find O'Mara's constant excuses so infuriating. He admitted at the last hearing that the defense has no expert witnesses, even though the forensic evidence has been available for examination for months now, and even though Zimmerman's supporters had donated around $380,000 for his defense - which has been frittered away.
O'Mara's claim that he doesn't have time to prepare a proper defense is also maddening, in light of all the time he's wasted appearing before members of the press and on Hannity to attack the Martins' attorneys, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Trayvon Martin's supporters and his girlfriend. He should shut up and get on with the important matters, or get off the case altogether.
Great post Dave. I was glad to see the motion denied. They have stomped their feet plenty, to get their way. Enough is enough. lol.
SANFORD, Fla. — A pool of 500 potential jurors will be called in the months leading up to George Zimmerman's second-degree murder trial.
That decision came out at a hearing in Seminole County late Thursday afternoon.
Zimmerman attorney Mark O'Mara and state prosecutors agreed that 500 is an adequate number of potential jurors because of the massive publicity surrounding the case.
Read more here....
Pool of 500 jurors to be called for Zimmerman trial
Judge denies George Zimmerman trial delay